• E-mail story
• Comments
• iPod friendly

Battle on

Vino’s introduces diverse battle of the bands.

By Shea Stewart (Contact)

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Rocking out — Krisoak is just one of the many bands playing this weekend at Vino’s battle of the bands. Doors open at 6 p.m. each night and cover is $5.

Local music fans are conscious of the wealth of talent possessed by Arkansas bands. Sitting at a musical crossroads, Arkansas is fertile ground for music, drawing from homegrown influences and blending it with the music knocking on the state’s borders, from Memphis soul to Mississippi Delta blues to Texas metal to Midwestern folk.

The result is a genre-bending vault of musical talent: punk, rock ‘n’ roll, power pop, hip-hop, jamband, alternative country, electronica, hardcore metal ... and the list is seemingly endless. The distinguished downtown brewpub and music club Vino’s has done its part in allowing local music to flourish, opening its stages for fledging groups while introducing music from several contrasting musical styles.

But for Vino’s first ever Battle of the Bands, the club has gone overboard, opening its stage for two nights to showcase 20 Arkansas bands ranging in sound from power pop to thrash metal.

“Arkansas has an unbelievable amount of talent for how small it is,” Vino’s booking agent Samantha Allen said. “We want our battle of the bands to really showcase that.”

More than 200 bands submitted entry forms for the first-come, first -entered Vino’s Battle of the Bands, which kicks off Friday night at 6 p.m. and continues Saturday night at 6 p.m. The rules for entrance were simple: $25 to sign-up, only Arkansas bands and only original music.

“I tried to touch base on all the genres,” Allen said. “I think with the bands that entered we got a diverse lineup. Vino’s is kind of known for its eclectic music.

“Personally for me I like shows where it is not the same three bands in a row [playing the same type of music].”

Bands will be allowed 20 minutes to play, and will be gauged by a panel of judges on originality, stage presence and performance, and crowd participation. As an added twist, each patron entering Vino’s will be asked what band they are there to watch. Although only a fraction of the overall scoring, each band’s attendance could be used in the event of a close decision.

The winner takes all, including a $500 cash prize (money from the entry fees), one day in the studio at Blackwater Recording Studios in Cabot, a free T-shirt design by Fierce Dragon Designs and five guaranteed shows at Vino’s.

“Sometimes for local bands it’s hard to get shows,” Allen said. “We want to give them a chance [with the five shows].”

Although the lineup is light on hip-hop, country/folk and electronica acts, in the future Vino’s will open the doors for submissions and then allow judges to whittle down contestants, enabling judges to select a more diverse musical genre lineup. Allen would also like to raise the profile of the judges, perhaps including record label execs and industry insiders on the panel.

“This was kind of a trial,” she said. “We want it to get bigger and bigger each year. We’d like to make it a challenge to get into the battle.”

But no matter what band walks away with the prizes, the overall goal of the battle of the bands is to give local music an audience.

“It’s a chance for bands to showcase their music and a chance for Vino’s to showcase local talent,” Allen said. “It’s a chance for the bands to play with other bands that they might not usually play with.

“It’s not going to be an easy win. It’s not the bands battling against each other. It’s about showcasing yourself.”